Earlier this week, with 45 C weather (113 F) in the Taygetus mountain area of Laconia in Mani, Greece, an accidental fire started in our Monastery and raged down the mountain towards our family’s village of Kastania and the other villages along the mountain side. The villages have been evacuated and so far Kastania has no lives lost, but most of their livelihoods have been destroyed. Lots of animals, olive trees, orchards, and farmland are gone.

After this photo was taken on Thursday in Kastania, the fires started up again and have since come down the mountain, now entering Gythio, which is also being evacuated. (See recent video of Gythio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceLc782_r04&t=1s).

The animals are the main source of income in Kastania, and with the fires destroying the plants they usually eat, we need to bring them food and water every day until it rains and there is some plant life for them to eat. It costs each family about 50 euros daily to do this. There is also a huge amount of work protecting what’s left of the crops and olive trees that will require hiring some extra hands. They’re planning to re-plant the lost olive trees but that will take time. It’s hard to say how many have been lost yet but our guess is hundreds. Without the trees and the animals, there is no income for the village.

The Greek government has various insurance programs that will help cover some of these costs, but the funds will not come this year and when they do will not likely cover anywhere near the full extent of their losses.

Please help us save what’s left of our village and ensure that the remaining land and animals survive.